Today, the court heard the brothers had not slept for almost two weeks as they ingested methamphetamine, prescription drugs and alcohol before they armed themselves with knives and attacked Mr Khalid, 29.

Suleman Khalid speaks to the media about the attack, while surrounded by supporters and fSource:News Limited

Anthony Allen, for Jake Wakefield, said his client had used drugs to escape from a troubled and unsettling upbringing, which has seen him attend 10 schools across three states.

“It was a terrible conclusion to a 13-day bender and in this context it can be seen as a disaster that was inevitably going to happen,” he said.

In his victim impact statement, which was read to the court today, Mr Khalid said he couldn’t sleep for more than two to three hours before waking from a nightmare about the incident.

“One day you will both be punished by God and you will regret what you have done to me,” he said.

He said he had returned to driving cabs, but only part-time, and was trying to find another job because of mental trauma associated with the incident.